Missoula County Public Schools

"Forward Thinking, High Achieving."

November 19, 2013 To Whom It May Concern: As a supervising mentor teacher for eight weeks this fall, I have come to know Forrest Leder as a competent teacher candidate. He has proven to possess the skills and talent necessary for teaching students. Forrest worked with me teaching general music to kindergarten through fifth grade students. We used a co-teaching approach most of the time but Forrest planned and successfully taught many lessons on his own. He also had the opportunity in co-teaching to demonstrate that he works well with students one-on-one. Mr. Leder was well received by the students and it was apparent that he liked helping children learn. He is a quick study and is able to self-assess very well. These attributes allowed him to progress quickly in his ability to plan lessons, manage the classroom and use time wisely. He demonstrates a high degree of musical knowledge and has a singing voice conducive to demonstrating healthy, beautiful singing. He taught a fun, engaging lesson on the unchanged voice that the students enjoyed and took seriously. During his assignment with me, Forrest demonstrated his commitment to becoming an excellent teacher. He stayed late when necessary and attended three days of teacher in-service outside of the school day. I highly recommend Forrest Leder as a candidate for a teaching position. He will be an asset to any institution of learning. Sincerely,

Renie H. Gibson, General Music Teacher Rattlesnake Elementary School Missoula County Public Schools 1220 Pineview Missoula, MT 59802